Dianne Feinstein (b. June 22, 1933, in San Francisco, California) is a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of California. She was first elected to the Senate in 1992.

Feinstein began her political career in 1970, serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors until 1978. She then served as Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988. Prior to her election to the Senate in 1992, she ran unsuccessfully for Governor of California in 1990.

Feinstein most recently won re-election in 2012. She and Elizabeth Emken (R) advanced past the blanket primary on June 5, 2012, defeating 22 other candidates. Feinstein then defeated Emken in the general election, receiving 62.5% of the vote.[1][2]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Feinstein is an average Democratic member of Congress, meaning she will vote with the Democratic Party on the majority of bills.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Feinstein's academic, professional and political career:[3]

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[5] The Senate confirmed 13,949 out of 18,323 executive nominations received (76.1 percent). For more information pertaining to Feinstein's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[6]

National security

John Brennan CIA nomination

Feinstein voted for the confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2013, with a vote of 63 - 34. Most Democrats supported the nomination, while Republicans were somewhat divided with roughly one-third supporting the nomination.[7]

Economy

Government shutdown

Feinstein "will donate her salary during the shutdown to the Consortium of Catholic Academies."[8]

No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013

Feinstein voted for H.R.325 -- No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed the Senate on January 31, 2013, with a vote of 64 - 34. The purpose of the bill was to temporarily suspended the debt ceiling and withhold the pay of members of Congress until a budget could be passed. The vote largely followed party lines with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting it and many Republicans in opposition to the bill.[9]

Immigration

Completion of fence along Mexico border

Feinstein did not vote on Senate Amendment 1197 -- Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border. The amendment was rejected by the Senate on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 39 - 54. The purpose of the amendment was to require the completion of 350 miles of fence described in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 before registered provisional immigrant status may be granted. It would also require 700 miles of fence be completed before the status of registered provisional immigrants may be changed to permanent resident status. The vote followed party lines.[10]

Social Issues

Gun control

After the shootings at the Washington Navy Yard in September 2013, Feinstein continued to push for tougher gun control laws. She said, "Congress must stop shirking its responsibility and resume a thoughtful debate on gun violence in this country. We must do more to stop this endless loss of life." President Barack Obama also responded in a similar fashion. He said, "Obviously, we’re going to be investigating thoroughly what happened, as we do so many of these shootings, sadly, that have happened, and do everything that we can to prevent them."[11]

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013

Feinstein voted for S.47 -- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, with a vote of 78 - 22. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. All 22 dissenting votes were cast by Republicans.[12]

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Feinstein voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.[13]

Senate Judiciary Committee

Feinstien became one of the first women in the history of the Senate Judiciary Committee to be appointed to the powerful committee in 1993 after she was sworn into duty as a Senator. Joining Feinstien as the other woman to serve on the committee was former Illinois Senator Carol Mosley-Braun. Since then two other women have been appointed to the committee including Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell and current committee member Amy Klobuchar.[14]

Campaign themes

2012

Excerpt: "Dianne increased fleetwide fuel economy standards for cars, trucks and SUVs by at least 10 miles per gallon over 10 years or from 25 mpg to 35 mpg by Model Year 2020 – the largest increase in more than two decades, and the first Congressional action on global warming."

Fighting Crime and Drug Trafficking

Excerpt: "Dianne worked for eight years in the successful effort to give victims of violent crime a core set of procedural rights under federal law and ensuring that they have standing to assert their rights before a court."

Improving our Health

Excerpt: "Dianne supported The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which overhauled health insurance in the nation, lowering costs and ensuring choice for all Americans."

Protecting our National Security

Excerpt: "As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne took a leading role in enacting the first Intelligence Authorization bill in six years. This bill improves oversight, strengthens the Director of National Intelligence’s ability to manage the intelligence agencies, and improves intelligence acquisition and budgeting practices. "

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Dianne Feinstein, click [show] to expand the section.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Dianne Feinstein won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Richard Mountjoy (R), Todd Chretien (G), Michael Metti (L), Marsha Feinland (P&F) and Don Grundmann (American Independent) in the general election.[19]

On November 8, 1994, Dianne Feinstein won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Michael Huffington (R), Elizabeth Cervantes Barron (P&F), Richard Benjamin Boddie (L), Paul Meeuwenberg (American Independent) and Barbara Blong (G) in the general election.[21]

U.S. Senate, California General Election, 1994

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Dianne Feinsteinincumbent

46.7%

3,979,152

Republican

Michael Huffington

44.8%

3,817,025

Peace and Freedom

Elizabeth Cervantes Barron

3%

255,301

Libertarian

Richard Benjamin Boddie

2.1%

179,100

American Independent

Paul Meeuwenberg

1.7%

142,771

Green

Barbara Blong

1.7%

140,567

N/A

Write-in

0%

173

Total Votes

8,514,089

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Feinstein is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Feinstein raised a total of $34,524,710 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[22]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Feinstein's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Feinstein won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. During that election cycle, Feinstein's campaign committee raised a total of $9,797,542 and spent $12,152,230.[24] This is more than the average $10.2 million spent by Senate winners in 2012.[25]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Feinstein missed 134 of 6,811 roll call votes from February 1993 to March 2013. This amounts to 2.0%, which is worse than the median of 1.7% among current senators as of March 2013.[29]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Feinstein paid her congressional staff a total of $4,125,359 in 2011. She ranked 2nd on the list of the highest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranked 2nd overall of the highest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, California ranked 1st in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[30]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Feinstein's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $42,777,230 and $98,673,018. That averages to $70,725,124, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2011 of $20,795,450. Her average net worth increased by 2.43% from 2010.[31]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Feinstein's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $44,386,225 and $93,707,020. That averages to $69,046,622.50, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2010 of $19,383,524 .[32]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Feinstein ranked 26th in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators in 2012.[33]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Feinstein ranked 15th in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators.[34]

Voting with party

2013

Feinstein voted with the Democratic Party 95.8% of the time, which ranked 13th among the 52 Senate Democratic members as of June 2013.[35]

Personal

Feinstein is married to Richard Blum and has one child and three stepchildren.

Recent news

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